Something New
by leyz
Summary: Ren begins to realize his true feelings. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

"Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen" I finally decide to get up. Judging by Nora's voice I had about 5 more seconds before she tried something drastic to get me up. I'm immediately met with her sea blue eyes as my vision adjusts to the light. Nora of course is hovering above me with a giant smile on her face. I raise my eye brows at her trying to avoid the inevitable.

"C'mon sleepy head I want breakfast before we leave!" she said her eyes gleaming. If there was one thing I learned from all the years we've spent together it was that you should never get between Nora and her love for food. I sigh getting up and begin to stretch. I can see Jaune and Pyrrha are getting ready as well. It takes me about 2 minutes to get ready for the day. All the while Nora is talking about our plans with team RWBY. It's our first open Saturday in a while so we all decided to go the forest next to the school. The reasoning for this is that we could spar openly without having to be worried about blowing up the school. Plus it was so close we doubted we run into any Grimm.

Nora was beyond excited. She was the outdoors type of person, always exploring.

We meet the rest of the gang at our usually lunch table and talk amongst each other as we eat. Nora is snugged up against me with Ruby at her other side. The two girls are debating about pancake syrup and I can't help and chuckle. When Ruby and Nora got talking the conversation ranged from flowers to gun calibers. At one point they burst out laughing and I'm all too aware of the feel of Nora against my side.

_Not this again. _I say to myself as I feel myself get a bit red in the face. Lucky for me Pyrrha and Jaune who are across from me are too worked up in themselves to notice. I repress a sigh as I take a sip of my coffee. I've been like this for a couple months now. Tiptoeing over the idea that I might actually be attracted to my best friend. Everything about us was the same. Nora was still being Nora, I've just started to respond differently towards our normal customs. Like right now, her body was molded into mine which shouldn't bother me- it didn't bother me. I actually like the feel of it and that was the problem.

I get an elbow to my side and my mind comes back to reality. "Ren" Nora says and I look away from the cup of coffee I have in my hand. I raise an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were going to dive head first into your mug" she says and earns a laugh from our group.

"Sorry, what did I miss?" I say. She begins to poke my side as, further down the table, Yang answers my question.

"Well I thought we could all hang out together tonight in our room" she say gesturing to the other girls in her team. I was never the kind who craved the company of others. But in reality she wasn't asking me because weather I'd say yes or no Nora would drag me there.

"Sure" I say and Nora let out a big 'YAY' and hugged me. She might look small but she had a death grip that's for sure.

"alright let's get going then" Pyrrha say across from me. Everyone begins to clean up.

I stiffen as Nora pulls away, her hand gliding over my chest and back. "what?" she says in an unnatural quiet tone. Her brows frown and her eyes are alert searching my face.

"nothing" I say as I get up from the table because I had no idea what to say. She follows and I make sure to mask my face.

"Are you sure Ren?" Her tone is laced with worry and confusion. This makes me uncomfortable because that's not how she is supposed to sound. I raise my brow and give her a smile. She smiles back and skips over to Ruby as we file out of the cafeteria.

Once were in the courtyard though Nora decides to start walking backwards. This is something she always loved to do. We'd have conversations walking places and she'd just go in front of me and start walking backwards all the while keeping the conversation. She was attempting to do this while talking to Ruby and Yang. The problem with this though was that she'd fall over and it was after one particular nasty fall that I had thought up a solution.

I caught up to them and Nora without breaking the conversation reaches out for me. I take her hand and we hold hands at arms lank. This way she could walk backwards and I could guide her and or catch her if I needed to. Ruby gives me a look and I shrug "a habit of hers" I say. The girls continue their conversation about weapons as my mind wanders to what happen the day before.

_I had just walked into our room as Nora came out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower. _

'_Hey Ren' she said as she danced in her towel towards her bed. Again this was a common thing. Nora was never shy or guarded around me. Nonetheless I couldn't stop my heart from racing and my sudden urge to walk up to her and do what? I had no idea. Instead I went to our shared bed (my actual bed) and laid down with my eyes closed. This solved half the problem as I could still very much hear and a simple thud of her toweling hitting the ground reached me. I thought my mind would explode from just my imagination .I was tired and just wanted to sleep despite it being only 9. I guess Nora sensed this as she very quietly made her way towards me. With my eyes still closed she curled up next to me. She laid her head on my shoulder._

"_Ren…" she said. Her voice sounded silky and yet tired at the same time._

"_Hhhm" I responded as her fingers did a rhythmic dance on my chest. I was drifting towards sleep when she shook me. A bit startled I opened my eyes and looked down at her face. Our faces mere inches apart as my desire kicked in. Her face was calm and collect, neutral as ever. Almost as if she was testing me. The only thing I felt besides my erratic heart beat was her small breath on my face. My hand had found her face at some point and had cupped her cheek. I would have been so easy to lean in and just kiss her but I couldn't. We just laid there looking at each other until Nora looked away and said "You should really shower and get ready for bed" I did exactly that. When I came out of the shower 15 minutes latter Nora was asleep and it look like our teammates where going to have a late night somewhere else. As I got into bed Nora rolled over towards me and we resumed our previous position. Except that I hugged her close to me and all I could think was that I was in so much trouble. As a feeling a bliss washed over me._

I was experiencing the same thing right now and I was just holding her hand. I lose focus as Nora loses her balance, we're about to fall over but I quickly yank are link hands and I'm able to adjust the fall so she falls on me. Everyone's laughing as Nora rolls off of me. I didn't think I was funny until I looked at her as she's clutching her side with laughter.

"you know this could be avoided if you'd just walk right" I say with a chuckle of my own. I wave Jaune's hand away as I get up. I quickly pull Nora off the ground.

"I know bu- but it's fun" she says laughing. Only Nora would find falling fun.

It's about noon when we find a good enough clearing to spar at. At first we were doing actual drills but then everyone starting messing around. Jaune and Pyrrha were practicing his aura skills but would burst into laughter every now and then. At least they were far enough were we didn't have to hear their gushy couple talk. Yang, Blake and Wiess were playing target practice with the trees. Nora and Ruby attempted to see which one could lift themselves higher into the air with their respective weapon. All the while I was under a tree attempting to meditate as the forest was being destroyed around me.

After a while I give up and lean against the tree behind me. I found myself watching Nora. Her moves were fluid as she slammed her hammer against the ground. She was lifted in the air and I felt myself panic for a second. Of course Nora landed safely. _How irrational_ I thought to myself. I could feel my heart racing and a pressure in my chest came. Nora and Ruby's laugh reached my ears. I sighed as I think I might just be going crazy.

The pang in my chest returns as I watch her slender form lift into the air again. She lands and her and ruby high five. That's when I remember Nora's hand on my chest earlier. I find myself going to a place I told myself I'd never go. The place where I think of Nora as more than just my best friend. Heat quickly rises to my face_. No I told myself. No this is wrong._ I couldn't help it though because I found myself craving Nora's touch. I close my eyes shut and think of anything else but the flood gates are open and Nora is all I see. I was here for one reason only and that was to protect her not be with her.

"Ren" I open my eyes. Nora is standing in front of me. I lean forward so I can get up but she plops down against the tree next to me. Just are shoulders are touching as she speaks.

"Did you see how high I went? I couldn't but I felt pretty high! I was like a bird or something. I wish we could fly Ren. Imagine me just flying to you or the games we could play! What do you think?" she rattles on.

"That could be rather dangerous, wouldn't it? Harder to catch criminals or protect yourself from enemies" I say thoughtfully.

She laughs and says "Well if birds can be civilized, I think we can to." I laugh because she has a valid point.

"Ren, what's going on with you?" she asks out of nowhere so it catches me off guard. I let the question float there as I watch Ruby aiming crescent rose at a tree next to Yang. Of course Nora would notice my odd behavior just as I have. We've been friends for so long this should not surprise me. I swallow hard.

"I don't know what you're referring to." I say in a mono tone because how am I supposed to tell my lifelong friend I have feelings for her. I simply just couldn't. Nora grabs my arm.

"Ren, you've been acting weird for a while now and I've been trying to give you some space but obviously that's not working." This is true as lately I've been bailing on our group more and more and she wouldn't ask me any questions. She sighs.

"It's almost like you're avoiding me..." she trails off quietly. At this I clutch my eyes shut because I kinda was avoiding her. She begins to remove her hand that was clutching my arm but I catch it with my other hand. I open my eyes and look at our hands.

"Nora I'm not avoiding you" I say and look her in the eyes. My words erase some of the doubt in them but not all.

It's her turn to look away. "Then what is it?" she asked as she adjusts her hand so now our hands are intertwined. I feel like I can't breathe. My chest clenches in a painful way.

She looks at me her eyes pleading with mine. "Nothing" I say but it comes out all wrong.

We both know I'm lying but she doesn't pressure me. She simply gets up and walks towards the group of girls. Iv'e hurt her feeling by simply not showing mine. I felt numb and just disgusted with myself.

I get up and walk away feeling Nora's eyes on me the entire time.

Later on at night is the first time in over 10 years that we slept separately. I'll admit it hurt to hear Nora climb into the bed next to me but I didn't say a word and nor did she.

It took me almost the entire night to go to sleep because it felt like a piece of my body was missing. It wasn't though it was just a few feet away from me in the form of my best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

It's freezing but it helps my sleep deprived state. It keeps me alert, which is something I need for something this risky. I sigh.

I wouldn't be in this situation if I would have just kept my feeling in check. Nora wouldn't be upset with me and I wouldn't be up this early on my way to the forest of Forever Fall. The more I thought about our friendship though the more I thought that this was inevitable. We were friends since we were kids and a couple long before I'd ever recognized my feelings. Practically joined at the hip, we even shared a bed.

Well we use to at least; it's been a couple of weeks since we had our little fight. I had woken the morning after prepared to apologize but instead she apologized to me for intruding. Of course I tried to explain without revealing the truth but she shot me down. She told me it didn't matter and laughed as she skipped towards the door. It was like nothing had happen so I thought at least. It's sad to say that it took me about a week to realize everything was wrong.

Nora was slowly drifting away from me in the simplest ways. At first she would sit across from me then she'd sit someone in between us. Now she was as far as she could get during meal times and class. We'd walk to and from class, now she skips along with one of the other girls. It was small things that spoke volumes but I was just as guilty or even more so. This entire thing started with me, I was the one separating myself from her and our group. Especially these last few weeks, I barely spent any time with them outside of class. Instead I'd elect to roam the halls or go to the library. I would get to our shared room late at night to avoid any questioning.

The worst part though was the fact that in the few times we did have an interaction I was the talkative one. I was the one asking how her day or class was. She would smile as she gave me a simple "good" or "fine".

She was pretending as if our entire relationship hasn't been turned upside down. She jokes and laughs with me but I know her laugh. I know every single one of her laughs and the one she gives me is strange and forced. I also noticed how her sweet and innocent smile has just the slightest dent in it. These were the things that stung me the most.

I didn't say anything though because it made me realize something that scared me more than anything.

I was in love with her.

"I was in love with Nora Valkyrie" I whisper out loud.

My best friend who refused to talk or be near me. A nervous laugh escapes me. It was such a lovely statement that rolled off my tongue. Something that didn't become clear to me until I began to miss her.

I missed her laugh, her love for food and her ridiculous monologues about anything and everything.

I take a deep breathe which brings me back to the present. I'm walking to Forever Fall with an empty jar in one hand and a spile in the other. I was determined to get my friend back and nothing more.

I was almost there and the sun was barely coming up. I might actually make it back before the others wake up. About 25 minutes later I realize this might take longer due to the cold weather. The gooey liquid seems thicker and slower. I sigh as I sit down against a tree. I relax a bit as the sun's rays begin to cancel out the cold.

My plan was simple: ambush Nora with pancakes and all but beg her to forgive me for being a horrible friend. It wasn't all that complicated, I just had to keep my cool around her.

I stiffen as a breeze goes by; the jar is only about half way full with the pinkish sap. This was the dangerous part of my trip. I was alone, miles from the school in a Grimm infested forest. Ursa and Beowulf alike who were attracted to the mere sweet smell of it.

I try to focus my senses to hear beyond what I see. Normally this would be easy but I have been having sleeping problems that ranged from heart ache to nerve racking guilt. I haven't had a full nights rest in a while; which in turn caused my aura to slowly deplete.

I hear them before I see them. A small group of Ursi making it was towards me. By this point they have also caught on to my sent. I regard the situation slowly in my head.

They are a group of 3-4 and I'm a single hunter in training. They can smell me but they can't see me. I climb the tree I was leaning on.

Now I see them. Its 3 regular sized Ursi, they sniff the air slowly approaching my area. I estimate my aura to be at about 65% so it could take about 3 hits. But it won't need to come to that. I could easily take out one by surprise so that left me with two. I take out StormFlower, this shouldn't be much of a fight. They are almost to me tree so I take a deep breath.

Then I launch myself at the one closest to me and I sink my blades into its head. It caught him off guard and so he doesn't even make a noise. My adrenaline picks up as I kick off him using the momentum to give me space. The other two begin to charge. I fire at both as I back up. It stuns them enough to stumble but they quickly recover. I turn and kickoff a tree launching myself to the one on the right. I hit him squarely in the jaw with my foot, effectively knocking him out. I turn and open fire on the last one but he's extremely close. I dodge his swipe by rolling to my right but I can't avoid his other hit. It hits me full force and I'm launched a few feet away. I ignore the pain and quickly get up. I am in no mood for a long fight.

I adjust my stance and bend my knees as he charges again. When he's a foot away I use my aura as a shield. Momentarily stunning him and I quickly let the shield fall and use my blade to slice his head off. I roll out the way so his body won't land on me.

I take a deep breathe, that was exhausting. My aura was lower than I thought so not taking a chance I take the somewhat full jar and begin my way back. I didn't want to keep Nora waiting.

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**A/N : Hey guys sorry about the sloppy first chapter. (I'll fix it soon) Anyways Please Review! Seriously it really helps. The next chapter should be up within a week and I'm thinking of making it a slight filler in Nora's POV so you guys can get her side of it. What do you guys think? -Z **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The first part is in Nora's POV and takes place right before the last chapter and the second part is in Ren's POV right after the last chapter. This is just a filler chapter sorry for the wait. **

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It was pretty quiet in our room except for Jaune's slight snore and the almost inaudible soft paddle of feet behind me.

Ren was up again. I suppress a sigh as I fight the urge to open my eyes. He was pacing back and forth in the space between our beds.

_Thud, thud, thud, and turn._ He was on repeat tonight. If I wasn't determine to give him space I would have tackled him to the floor and slept on him.

_Thud, thud, thud, and turn._ This was the hardest part of the last couple of months, knowing something was wrong but not wanting to push him into a corner. You see he was the type to shut down under pressure, at least emotionally. The warrior within only helped in a fight after all.

_Thud, thud, thud, and …..pause then turn._ He let out a tiny frustrated sigh that made my chest hurt. All I wanted to do was hug him. To let him know I was here for him but he would probably run away if I got up. Lately the only way you got us in the same room was either in a mandatory class or if one of us were unconscious. I wanted nothing more than to smother him like I usually do but I couldn't help but think that was the reason why he was pushing me away. I was the type that showed my love openly. I mean he knew I loved him but not that I was actually in love with him. I think. There were moments we would share that made it seem like it was a mutual feeling. It was complicated.

He was my best friend and then one day it evolved into something more, at least for me. It was like cake topped with icing. You have something wonderful already and then you go add more to wonder to it.

I almost jump when I feel a ghost of a hand slide down from the top of my head to the length of my short hair. Chills run down my spine as his hand rests on my shoulder and for a second I wished my hair was as long as Pyrrha's. Somewhere in the back of my brain, a part that wasn't consumed by the warm feeling of Ren's touch, I make a mental note that I must be a good actor to fool him.

_Thud, thud, and…..thud? Yup thud. _

Ren has stated I was a very heavy sleeper in the few times he would actually wake before me. For the most part it was true; I had an internal clock that woke me up at 7 on the dot. Anything before 7 and you got a solid bolder that wasn't going to move. But my sleeping arrangements have recently changed and with that my sleeping patterns. That first night was the worst because I barely got any sleep. I would wake to every sound. That's when I realized that I slept like a rock when I was in Ren's arms only because I knew I didn't have to worry about anything.

_Maybe I should tackle him at this point it was more my benefit than his. _

I shake my thoughts as I focus on Ren. It seemed now that he would do all in his power to avoid me. I hear him turn and go to his drawer. He must be heading out.

Five minutes later the door closes as his footsteps fade away. I don't move for about a minute as a feeling of emptiness washes over me. I calm my mind, then slowly I open my eyes and I'm met with a pair of emerald eyes from across the room. In the dark they are soft and comforting and they remind me so much of his pink one's. For the first time in a long time I lose it. I quickly cover my mouth with my hands to muffle my sob. I felt broken and detached as my heart sunk. It was almost like he was slowly saying goodbye. I squeeze my eyes shut but the tears still find their way out.

_What happen to us?_

I squeal as a hand holds my shoulder.

"Nora, just breathe" she whispers. I take a couple of deep breathes and open my eyes. Pyrrha is crouched in front of me, while Jaune is still asleep in their bed.

"I need some air" I tell her and she nods. I pull the covers off and the cold sinks in. I'm shivering as I step outside our room. Then I realize this was a bad idea. Before I know it I'm using my aura to track him down. He went left and then down stairs. It takes most of my will power not to run after him. Where was he going this early in the morning? I had no idea but I wasn't going to follow him, I trusted him enough to come to me if it was something bad. I sigh as I slide down against the wall of our dorm. Pyrrha does the same. For a while we don't say anything as I whip my face, a bit embarrassed.

"So I bet you're happy that Jaune's not that bad, huh?" I say with a scratchy voice and when she gives me a confused look I point at team RWBY's door. You could clearly hear Yang's snore from out hear. We both chuckle.

"Yes well as much as I love Jaune, I think that I might have to kick him out of our bed if such a noise were to escape his lips" I can't help it, the mental image that crosses my mind sends me into a fit of laughter. After my little episode it felt good to laugh.

"Nora?" she says a bit more serious.

"Yes?" I was secretly wishing she wouldn't ask but she was too good of a person not to.

"What is really going on between you and Ren?" she asks. I had previously told her that we had gotten into an argument but that we patched things up. But it was obvious to everyone that that wasn't the case. I didn't want to have this conversation but Pyrrha had become a very close friend to me. Not to say I wasn't good friends with team RWBY. No we were one tight nit group but being on the same team made us even closer.

"I guess since I helped you with your boy problem you can help me with mine" I say to her and she chuckles.

"Of course" she says "_Or I can chuck you guys in a closet and throw away the key_" she says her voice pitched. I laugh as I remember telling her that. "I think I'm offended by that horrible rendition of my voice." Pyrrha was a complete goof once you got past the warrior side of her. That was probably why she and Jaune fit so well together.

I close my eyes, I can't keep avoiding this.

"I don't know. He seems to want nothing to do with me and I have no idea why. Then sometimes he act semi-normal and- and I'm so confused." I pause to take a breath "but what I do know is that I miss him Pyrrha. I miss my best friend more than anything. Yet I can't shake the feeling that he has gotten tired of me." It felt good to say that out loud and at the same time made it seem all too real. I concentrate on Yang's snore fighting whatever feeling threaten to come up.

"I don't think he's tired of you. He just seems lost to be honest, you both do actually" she says quickly. I open my eyes and give her a funny look because that didn't make any sense.

"You two seem more like a part of each other than actual individuals." She pauses for a second.

"I say you are lost because these last couple of weeks you two have been anything but yourselves. You're more quiet than usual and he's even more reclusive. I know you guys are trying to hide it but it's so obvious." She pats my hand and gives me a small smile.

"It's always felt like that you know? We've been together so long that we could almost guess each other's thoughts but now it's like we barley know each other. Half my time is spent trying to figure him out or simply running away before he can."

"You need to stop avoiding each other and talk." she says. I remember the night she had told me that Jaune had kissed her then ran away. Neither could speak nor look at each other for about a week out of pure embarrassment. I was so annoyed with the awkward tension I had warned them to either talk it out or I was going to shove them into the closet. I don't think that would work well for me and Ren.

"I tried that and I didn't go well" I lean my head back against the wall. "He shut me out" I say. Pyrrha was silent next to me.

"The only way to let someone in is to open up to them. Ren has done nothing but put up walls that I don't think I can climb over" I hug my knees to my aching chest. "Every time he talks to me I'm afraid he's going to tell me he doesn't want me around anymore"

"When I first meet the both of you I had thought you were a couple. It seemed like there was no other way to describe the relationship. From an outside perspective I can see that you two care deeply for one another. I don't think that has changed even now." She gets up.

"C'mon it too early to be up" she offers me a hand. She makes her way back to Jaune and I find myself flopping down on Ren's bed face first. I doubted he'd come back anytime soon and if he did I decided he'd have to fight me for the bed. I wrapped myself in his sent filled blankets. They were a horrible substitute for the real thing but they did easy the sinking feeling in my stomach.

I let out my own tiny frustrated sigh, Pyrrha was right we needed to talk. I just didn't know how I was going to do it.

* * *

"Jeez Ren it's been awhile since you've made these!" I sigh; this isn't exactly what I planned.

"Please don't speak with a mouthful of food" I say as I'm pretty sure some pancake landed on me. I lean back so now I'm lying down on Nora's bed. All I want to do is fall asleep for the rest of the day. I take a deep breath as I close my eyes. Nora's sent fills my head. If you were to fill half a room with lilies and the other half with all kinds of sweets that is exactly what she smelled like.

"I'm heading out in the next flight. You could join us? " Jaune says as he devours another pancake. The plate of pancakes that were meant for Nora.

I came back from my little adventure to an empty room. The girls had left for a day out in the city. Jaune had an extra combat class he had to attend so he stayed behind. You couldn't really ambush someone if they aren't available to ambush. I had laughed at my horrible luck and given the pancakes to Jaune.

"Pyrrha told me they were going shopping then to a little music place that Blake has been dying to go to." He informed me and I thought about going but I was exhausted. My aura was low and my side was throbbing.

"I think I'll pass" I say. He swallows and stops eating for a second. In our quiet room you could practically feel the awkward tension. I open my eyes and look at him. "Yes?" I encourage only because he is our leader and as much as I hate small talk he needed to learn how to speak his mind.

"Well …" he begins cutting another piece of pancake. "It would be a nice surprise to Nora if you- ya know showed up" then he quickly shoves the pancake in his mouth not looking at me. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't answer or even acknowledge his statement but he was only a friend trying to be helpful.

"Yeah your right" I respond because these couple of weeks isolating myself from everyone not only made me realize how I feel about Nora but also I realized that these were my friends. They were a mess of different people but they cared for one another. We were the future generation of defense for our world. If we couldn't coexist then there was absolutely no point in any of this. Not only that but in this group me and Jaune were the only two males. And it wasn't like I was going to confess my entire life to him but we did need to have each other's back in this world that seemed to be filled with women.

"When's the next airship to town?" I ask.

"About an hour" he says with half a mouth full. He points with his fork to the forgotten jar of syrup next to me.

"No" I say. He laughs "You may not believe this but those pancakes weren't for you." We both laugh now.

"Wake me up in an hour" I say as I close my eyes.

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**Another A/N: If there is anything I wanted to show in this chapter was the dynamic between team JNPR. As for Nora's POV I had some difficulty with it because I wanted to show the less enthusiastic side to her.(i'd love to have her boop everyone if i could)**

**Please REVIEW! or PM me with questions or suggestions. You guys have been so nice and it means a lot! -Z **


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